Wendy's has committed to removing antibiotics important to human medicine from its chicken by the end of this year.
Making progress
Wendy’s continues to make progress alongside other companies in the QSR industry in areas of corporate social responsibility, especially pertaining to animal raising practices and food quality. “We recognize the important role that continuous improvement plays in advancing our supply chain,” Esposito said.
In 2014, Wendy’s set a goal to eliminate the use of gestation stalls by 2022. The company is well on its way to meeting that goal as it currently sources about 30 percent of its pork from suppliers who meet this standard.
Wendy’s started offering breakfast items in 2009. After cutting back the program to 400 of its more than 6,000 US and Canadian locations, in January 2016, Wendy’s announced plans to transition to 100 percent cage-free eggs in its US and Canadian restaurants offering breakfast by 2020.
In February 2017, Wendy’s announced a $30 million investment in chicken quality, which included partnering with suppliers to use 20 percent smaller birds. The changes were implemented across the entire US supply of Wendy’s premium chicken breasts through the second quarter of 2017. In addition, the company also made a commitment to remove antibiotics important to human medicine from its chicken supply by the end of 2017.
These changes in corporate policy, along with others, were made with ongoing supplier input. “The relationship between Wendy’s and our suppliers is a journey based on mutual trust and transparency, and we strongly support and celebrate the work of our suppliers who find improvements in their policies, practices and processes,” Esposito said.
“We expect all of our suppliers to comply with the law and use best practices in all aspects of their operations, and to conduct business in a way that is consistent with the values of Wendy’s and our franchisees,” said Wendy’s President and CEO Todd Penegor. “Further, it’s important to us to reaffirm our past commitments and aspire to even greater accomplishments in the areas of environmental and social responsibility.”
